Well, it would seem we only have a few chapters left in this story. I'm thinking I will probably have the next chapter (which will be a doozy) out by tomorrow, and then the story will probably wrap up with a last few chapters. It's been quite fun, and if I end the story the way I intend to (since I don't plan chapters out, I just write) it is highly possible there will be a sequel. Regardless, thanks for the wonderful comments and enjoy!

The television blared in Lucy's ears, repeating the exact same broadcast she had been hearing nonstop for twenty two hours. Why did she leave it on so loud again?

Oh yeah, to keep herself awake.

Her eyelids were heavy and swollen, but if she slept, she knew she would have another nightmare. She wasn't entirely sure how her dreams of the future related to her power, but they were there and that was all that mattered. And she didn't want to see the future anymore, because she knew it was nothing she wanted to see.

She remained perfectly still on the sofa and focused on the sound of her own heartbeat, her lungs expanding, the air rushing out of her mouth. She had spent close to a day in the hospital and she still felt the thick haze of those pills she took. Well, was forced to take. She knew very well what they were – sedatives. She supposed her stint in the hospital as the hysterical loon had been enough to label her temporarily insane. But what did they expect from her? Did they expect her to act like a lost soul? Sit there, passive and alone? Was she supposed to just take it?

She was so tired of sitting back. She was so tired of being weak and alone. She hated every part of herself that fell at the slightest budge of bad news. She wanted to be strong.

But she couldn't even make the call. Roxie had to do it. Lucy just made the command to kill her own brother, pull the plug. Somebody else had to carry it out. She was a big coward in the end. Didn't even get to see him one last time.

But Max had died a long time ago, and Lucy was finally starting to understand that.

In the sheer chance he did wake up, what exactly kind of world would he be welcomed in to? Things had changed while he had stayed so perfectly still. Time had forgotten him and instead wreaked havoc everywhere else. Wars had been waged and heroes had been created. He would wake up to a life he no longer belonged in, a world that had been shaped without him. It wouldn't have been fair.

Under the assumption he would wake up fully functional with his memory intact. Of course, with minimal grief that both his parents had been killed and he had missed out on a giant portion of his life.

The only hope Lucy had left was that the space he left behind was to be used by someone that actually needed it. All it did for Lucy was house her dead brother for a little over a decade.

But deep in her heart, she knew she would do anything to bring him back.

The television continued to drone on in a desperate attempt to entertain itself. Why did she leave that stupid thing on again?

Right. Keep herself awake – she had forgotten again.

Lucy craned her neck and was quickly blinded by the flashes from the new cast. Red embers raged across the screen as a pretty woman talked words Lucy didn't understand. If she really tried, she was pretty sure she saw herself, a small black smudge, run back into the building from an aerial view. It felt like such an enormous waste now, risking her life just to recover some of her measly paintings. The burns were minor, but still hurt as every rub of her cotton shirt.

And if she grit her teeth and forced herself to watch, she saw Steve Rogers carry her out in his arms. She remembered exactly how it felt; to feel the weight of everything crash down her, only to be weightlessly lifted from the burning gallery. She remembered exactly how she felt when she looked into his two true American blue eyes. And she remembered thinking "Why couldn't it have been Will?"

Or maybe she had said that, because he gave her an extremely peculiar look.

Lucy knew why it couldn't have been Will, it was really quite simple. See, you can't save someone when you don't show up to the scene of the accident. And if you don't show up to the accident, what's the point of a hospital visit, or even a simple phone call in the response to about eight frantic voicemails?

The voice of the news anchor shifted and Lucy felt her ears perk up.

"Another man has been found dead in a New York City dumpster. It is currently unknown whether the undentified body has anything to do with the deceased William Ecclesto –"

Lucy jumped up from the sofa, a dizziness settling into her brain. The screen flashed a ragged man with a dirty beard, two beady brown eyes, and round cheeks. Under the picture was a very familiar name to a very unfamiliar face. Lucy's brow knitted together in confusion.

"Both bodies seem to show a very similar MO – no external cuts, bruises, or signs of foul play. The investigation is ongoing."

Lucy wasn't sure if it was the drugs or a coincidence, but the William Eccleston she had met a month ago wasn't the man she saw on the screen. She felt a creeping sensation slither over her.

"Lucy."

Lucy jumped at the voice and turned around to a painful hit over the head. She felt her entire body throb with pain and she collapsed on the floor. Her head hit the hardwood with a thud. Her eyes met with a pair of boots. She slowly lifted her head and looked up.

"I'm so sorry it had to happen like this, little bird."

She opened her eyes to a wooden ceiling. At first, she stayed perfectly still, afraid to move an inch. Where the hell was she?

Light peered through the windows like an early morning sunrise. Carefully, Lucy turned her head to one side to find herself in a small room with a leaky sink. She was lying on a bed with a quilt over her. There was only one small window to her right, over the bed. A cool draft wafted from the old window. Lucy spotted a narrow door on the other side of the room. Silently, she crept across the room and twisted the doorknob.

Locked.

She pushed on the door to see if it budged, but it was locked shut. Wildly, she looked around the room. She found a wooden chair and lifted it from the ground. With every bit of power she had, she threw it against the door, which only groaned in response. Panic began to rise.

She began to hit the door like a human battering ram. Over and over until her shoulder bruised significantly. She fell to the floor panting. She was dizzy with exhaustion and her shoulder burned with pain.

The door slowly opened and there stood Will. He looked just as he had in her dreams, clad in ridiculous armor, a helmet of golden horns atop his head. Lucy crept backward until her back hit the frame of the bed. She felt her breathing spiral out of control.

"Little bird, so glad to see you awake. It's been a long day."

Lucy looked at his face, tired and haggard, sweat dripping down in ripples. Scratches and cuts marred his otherwise flawless skin. Dark bags hung under his beautiful green eyes. But they were empty, two green shallow pits filled with nothing. He lost the magnificent glow that usually radiated off of him.

"You've changed," Lucy whispered and she noted the air of disgust that radiated off him. She felt a mix of anger, fear, frustration strangle her senses. "What has happened to you, Will?"

"Do not call me Will, Lucy. We both know that is not my true identity," He said as he crept toward her. Lucy looked away, shaking in fear. "You are afraid of me, little bird. Do not fear, I will never harm you," he promised. He slipped his arms under hers and lifted her up onto the bed. Lucy sat still, but felt her body shake, out of her control.

"Who are you then? And what do you want with me?" Lucy asked behind clenched teeth.

"I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose. Perhaps I should explain, little bird. I come from very far away from a world called Asgard. I have come to this filth in order to restore greatness. In order to do so, I needed the Tesseract. And now that I have it fully under my control, I have come to claim you as my queen-"

"Queen? Queen of what exactly?" Lucy asked, her voice an octave higher than usual.

"Queen of Midgard, of Earth, little bird. Together, you and I shall rule this world and return it to glory."

Lucy gasped and shook her head. He was insane, out of his damn mind.

"You're…you're crazy," Lucy told him. "Delusional, nuts…" Lucy trailed off. She stood up and walked toward the door, about to run.

"Now Lucy dear, you know of your power, and yet you deny the existence of others? It cannot be that farfetched to accept that there are others with…talents."

Lucy froze. Slowly, she turned to face Will – no, Loki once again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lucy lied. Loki laughed coldly, sending shivers down Lucy's spine.

"You are quite a wretched liar, Lucy. Deception doesn't really suit you all too well. But I don't need you for deception, little bird. Perhaps a bit of destruction, but even that is questionable," He smirked.

"What do you want with me?" Lucy asked again, retracing her steps. She felt her fists clench, a sensation rising in her chest.

"I want you to rule, Lucy."

"Why? Why should I? Everything you've ever said to me was a lie. Every night we shared a bed was…was absolutely nothing to you. Why should I trust you, Loki? Why should I vie to share a throne with you?" Lucy asked, her tone verging on frenzied.

"That was never a lie, Lucy. I always cared very dearly for you," Loki said, his voice like a warm summer breeze. Lucy couldn't detect any deception in his statement. Still, she remained unwavering.

It was clear that something had gone terribly wrong in the past few hours. The man she had known and loved had transformed into a power hungry beast. He was a savage, yearning for power, for vengeance.

And Lucy wasn't so sure she could stop him alone.

"If you come with me Lucy, I will bring your brother to you,"

"My brother is dead!" she exclaimed. "I had to kill him because I didn't have the money to keep him alive!" Lucy screamed, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.

"It's very easy to bring back what has been lost," Loki smirked. He glanced at a flower, wilted and dying. With a swipe of his hand, it perked right up, gaining back color into its delicate petals.

"How did you do that?" Lucy asked, hypnotized by the trick.

"There are many things I can do, Lucy."

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew what she had to do.

"What happens now?" Lucy asked, sitting beside Loki. He turned to her, a glint in his eyes.

"I return to New York. You will be kept out of harm's way until the battle is over, and then we will claim this world as our own," he told her. He cradled her face in his hand, just as he had so many times before.

"Soon, we will be together, and no one will be able to stop us," he murmured. He kissed Lucy on the lips tenderly and departed.

Lucy waited several moments and then ran to the door. She pushed open the front door, dashing through the living area. She didn't know what she expected when she opened the door, but all she found was what seemed to be miles and miles of forest.

"Shit," she muttered.